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ESG disclosures and capital structure: An analysis of debt and equity dynamics in India
Full text linkThe current study aims to explore how environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosures impact the capital structure decisions of the non-financial Indian firms listed on the NSE500 index for the period of 2015–2022. The pooled OLS and system GMM estimations indicate that higher ESG disclosure scores are linked to lower debt-to-equity (DTE) ratio, suggesting that improved ESG disclosures allow a firm to have better access to equity financing via stock markets. Environmental and social disclosures play a key role in reducing leverage. Further, the impact of ESG on DTE is more pronounced for firms in environmentally sensitive industries and those with lower initial ESG scores. Moreover, the relationship strengthens during periods of economic and market downturns particularly during the COVID-19 crisis. The mediation analysis shows that cost of debt and cost of equity are important channels through which ESG affects choices related to debt financing viz-a-vis equity financing respectively. The present study adds to the sustainable finance literature on emerging markets by shedding light on the role of ESG in shaping corporate capital structure. The results of the study offer practical implications for corporate managers, investors, and policymakers, emphasizing the importance of ESG transparency in financial decision-making
Is philosophy of education Western? Views from Asia and beyond
No full textIn ‘Is Philosophy of Education Western?’, Jackson and Kwak (2025) examine the field of educational philosophy and theory from cultural and geographical perspectives. They ask which thinkers and topics are showcased in standard-bearing work in the field, and how philosophers of education around the world situate themselves in terms of the topics and thinkers they focus on. Who is represented in the field? Who is considered a leader of the field and who is not? What topics are considered central, and which are peripheral? How do diverse scholars, in the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, South Africa, or India, see philosophy of education? Is raising this line of questions philosophical (onto-epistemological) or political in its nature
Digital Learning: Exploring Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Ease of Use of Open Educational Resources
No full textThe present study investigates the purpose, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and attitude toward open educational resources (OER) among postgraduate students at a state university in Odisha, India. A structured questionnaire was distributed to students to evaluate the purposes of using OER, including their perceptions. The survey received responses from 285 students across various disciplines. The collected data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics in IBM SPSS version 22. The study’s findings revealed that university students use OER to supplement their textbooks and lectures (58.9%), address personal educational needs (59.3%), and access updated content in their subjects (35.4%). The study’s findings showed that university students had a generally positive attitude toward OER, perceiving it as useful and easy to access. University students opined that the provision of OER is a good idea (mean = 4.34, SD = 0.71) and viewed it as promoting lifelong learning (mean = 4.26, SD = 0.64). Furthermore, the study revealed a significant difference in the perceived usefulness (t(283) = 1.99, p = .047) and perceived ease of use (OER, t(283) = 3.48, p = .001) of OER between the students from business, social sciences, and humanities and science and technology disciplines. Additionally, this paper outlines the activities that libraries can initiate to increase awareness and optimal usage of OER
Against Per Se Illegality of Tying and Bundling in Digital Markets: Perspectives from the EU and India
No full textThe rapid global diffusion of digital technologies has prompted jurisdictions to abandon traditional effects-based competition enforcement in favor of rigid ex ante regulatory regimes. The European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), often viewed as a "model law," exemplifies this shift by imposing per se prohibitions on a catalogue of practices deemed inherently anti-competitive. Among these, the categorical condemnation of tying and bundling is particularly striking. Unlike other DMA-listed practices, tying has a long, contested history in industrial economics, where it is associated with both foreclosure risks and significant efficiency gains.This paper argues that the transplantation of per se prohibitions on tying into ex ante frameworks neglects economic nuance and misrepresents technological reality. Through a comparative analysis of EU jurisprudence, existing Indian competition law, and the proposed Indian Digital Competition Bill, the paper demonstrates that earlier effects-based approaches were better equipped to distinguish exclusionary tying from welfare-enhancing "technological integrations." It further contends that digital markets do not eliminate classical efficiencies; rather, they intensify them through deep product integrations. Using a brief case study of an AI product, the paper illustrates how rigid rules misclassify innovation as anti-competitive and shows how minor exemptions in draft laws often produce legal uncertainty. Ultimately, the paper contends that the per se illegality of tying reflects political choices over sound economics. It suggests that emerging economies, particularly India, should modernize their effects-based jurisprudence instead of adopting blanket bans
Modelling readiness factors for digital platform adoption considering metaverse environment: towards digital organizations
No full textIn recent years, the concept of metaverse, where individuals can interact amongst each other and digital objects, has gained popularity. The metaverse has the potential to revolutionize how businesses operate by enabling remote work, immersive staff training and virtual events for customers. The metaverse presents opportunities for various industries, including gaming, real estate, education and retail, to develop digital and sustainable platforms. This study aims to identify and evaluate the potential readiness factors of digitalization among stakeholders in an organization for effective businesses.Initially, a thorough examination of existing literature is conducted, and input gathered from the experts was used to identify 15 readiness factors that drive digitalization within the metaverse environment. Next, the best-worst method is adopted to prioritize the identified readiness factors based on their importance and total interpretive structural modelling and the Cross-Impact Matrix Multiplication Applied to Classification technique are employed to analyse the interrelationships among the readiness factors.The results from the study indicate that the most significant readiness factors for digital platforms in the metaverse are user-centred design concepts, artificial intelligence and machine learning skills, data management and privacy, real-time data analytics and insights and scalable and adaptable architecture and technological infrastructure.This study aims to make a valuable contribution to the existing body of knowledge on organizations’ intentions to transition to the digital and sustainable platform in a methodical manner that benefits both decision-makers and end-users
OPINION | A Watershed Moment In Bangladesh: Elections, Reform And Regional Implications
No full textBangladesh is at a significant political juncture since the July 2024 uprising that ended the 15-year rule of Sheikh Hasina. For many citizens, the electoral victory of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party under the leadership of Tarique Rahman represents more than a routine change of government, as it marks the restoration of electoral meaning. In recent years, political discourse in Bangladesh has been marked by deep polarisation, allegations of shrinking civic space, and questions regardin
Mathematics Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge in Strengthening Conceptual Understanding in Students with Learning Disabilities: A Practice-Based Conceptual Synthesis
Full text linkStudents with learning disabilities (LD) often struggle to develop deep, transferable concep tual understanding in mathematics due to cognitive and processing challenges, underscor ing the relevance of instruction grounded in strong teacher pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). This issue is critical given widening post-pandemic achievement gaps and increased expectations for conceptual understanding in inclusive classrooms. Although many studies document effective mathematics interventions for students with LD, relatively few examine howteachers’ PCK functions in these classrooms. In contrast, general education research highlights the importance of PCK for conceptual learning. This manuscript bridges these studies by examining how insights from broader PCK research may inform instruction for students with LD. This manuscript presents a practice-based conceptual synthesis of research on mathematics teachers’ PCK, integrating findings from special education and mathematics intervention literature with classroom vignettes and practitioner examples. The synthesis highlights how core PCK components—content knowledge, understanding of student thinking and misconceptions, and instructional strategies—may support early conceptual understanding in students with LD, emphasizing multiple representations, error analysis, and routines that promote generalization through distributed practice. Implications for practice, professional development, and future research are discussed, offering practice-informed pathways to support inclusive mathematics instruction for students with LD
Dharali debris flow on 5 August 2025, Uttarakhand: event reconstruction and geomorphic implications
Full text linkThe Dharali debris flow on 5 August 2025, in Uttarakhand, India, was a catastrophic disaster that occurred in Kheer Gad, a tributary of the Bhagirathi river. It claimed approximately 60 lives and covered an estimated 3 hectares of apple orchards under debris. The damage also included at least 25–30 animals and a market comprising 65 hotels, over 30 resorts, and homestays. The present study involved the geomorphic characterisation of Kheer Gad to assess the debris flow potential of the catchment and debris flow simulation to ascertain the source, potential flow dynamics, and reconstruction. Findings reveal that the 17 km2 Kheer Gad catchment is inherently unstable, as suggested by Melton’s ruggedness number of 0.8, significantly above the 0.6 debris-flow threshold. The trigger was not a single event, but an antecedent rainfall of ∼195 mm/30 days, which saturated glacial and landslide-derived source materials. Debris flow simulation revealed 60 kPa flow pressure, velocities of 5–10 m/s, flow height of 5–10 m, spread area of ∼18 hectare, and volume estimate of 995,580 ± 200,000 m3–1,285,260 ± 126,000 m3 . These values are validated against field observations. Notably, the disaster was exacerbated by human vulnerability, given the doubling of built-up structures between 2011 and 2025, despite prior warnings in 2013. The present study provides a transferable methodology for assessing similar high-risk, glaciated basins to prevent such avoidable disasters
SHIELD: System for Harmful Explicit-Content Identification and Evaluation Through LLM-Driven Approach
Full text linkThe surge in access to explicit content across various platforms has sparked major concerns, yet existing content filtering systems find it difficult to analyze different media formats leading to the spread of unchecked dissemination of harmful content. To tackle these shortcomings, the authors proposed SHIELD, which is an optimized end-to-end pipeline to detect & analyze explicit content, using a large-language-model (LLM) driven approach. SHIELD processes multi media inputs by segregating and preprocessing them, followed by converting all formats into text through advanced models, extracting meaningful textual context and subjecting the resulting data to two parallel evaluation mechanisms: an LLM-based classifier for contextual analysis, and a semantic vector-based scoring system for quantitative measurement. Explicitness classifications are output in a JSON format, which allows easy integration into real-world systems. When benchmarked against a manually curated ground truth dataset, the LLM-based system surpasses vector-based approach, with an accuracy of 93.32%, as against 67.81%. The pipeline shows robustness across all media types and file sizes, confirming its viability as a scalable, context-aware solution
“Are you safe?”: using the regulatory focus theory to understand Indian heterosexual and queer dating app users’ strategies to mitigate the risks of online dating
No full textThis study examined how Indian dating app users perceive risks in their online interactions and the strategies they employed to mitigate deception, privacy concerns, and protect their sexual health, framed by Regulatory Focus Theory (RFT) assumptions. Semi-structured, audio-recorded interviews (N = 10) were conducted with heterosexual (n = 4) and queer (n = 6) urban Indian dating app users. Interviews explored participants’ risk-related decision-making regarding matching, meeting, and engaging in sexual activity with a potential partner, and methods used to mitigate risks. Data were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Three major themes were identified, with risk mitigation strategies related to: (i) deception – pertaining to the idea of ‘trust’ and safety’ while interacting with other users, (ii) privacy or identity maintenance – unique to queer individuals wherein they used a range of strategies (e.g. anonymising identity), and (iii) sexual health protection – participants tried to establish trust and engaged in condom negotiation. Aligned with RFT, these findings demonstrate that dating app users oscillate between prevention-focused (avoiding deception and protecting privacy) and promotion-focused (pursuing intimacy and maintaining sexual health) strategies. Overall, this study highlights a need for improving access to sexual health clinics, nesting safety/security measures within dating apps, and designing interventions to address users’ diverse motives in dating app use